Page 36 of Undone
It really couldn’t.
Michael was his. His friend.
He’d be damned if he lost one of his only friends over this.
Chapter 15
When his butler informed him that Lord Blake wanted to see him, Michael wasn’t even surprised. Anthony wasn’t one to bury his head in the sand. He faced problems head-on instead of ignoring them.
So no, he wasn’t surprised. It wasn’t surprise that made his heart start hammering in his chest.
He was, however, surprised that his first instinct was to check his reflection in the mirror.
Cringing in self-disgust, Michael quashed the urge ruthlessly and dismissed his estate manager with, “You may go, Thoren.”
The man gave him a confused look but gathered his documents and left.
Michael exhaled when Thoren’s sharp, nauseating scent finally faded from the room. It was undeniable now that there was something wrong with his senses. Other alphas’ scents had become unbearable lately, aggravating him much more than they used to. The most concerning part was, it seemed his own scent had changed somewhat too. His mother had been the only one to comment on it besides Anthony, but Michael had noticed other people sniffing him discreetly and throwing him confused looks.
It made him wonder if he should really go to the hospital. Was his pride more important than his health? He could be dying, for all he knew.
When Anthony entered his office, Michael straightened in his chair, his heart jumping into his throat. He hadn’t seen Anthony in two days, since...
“We need to talk,” Anthony said, meeting his gaze firmly.
His eyes were so blue.
Swallowing, Michael gave a clipped nod and gestured to the chair across his desk. He was glad for the physical barrier between them.
Silence fell over the room as they just looked at each other.
Michael felt like there was a colony of bees buzzing under his skin. He could barely sit still, and it took an incredible effort to maintain a calm expression.
“I want to apologize,” Anthony finally said, his voice a little stiff. “For what I did the other night. We were in public. It was a miracle we weren’t seen.”
Michael blinked before laughing harshly. “You’re apologizing for doing it in public? You’re apologizing for the wrong thing, Ant.”
Anthony’s gaze remained steady on him. Unflappable. He didn’t look likehehad trouble remaining calm. It was infuriating.
“Let’s cut the bullshit,” Anthony said, his gaze still fixed on Michael’s face.
Anthony wasn’t even blinking, Michael realized suddenly. What he’d taken for calm was actually a strange and unsettling kind of fixation.
“I’m not going to deny that I wanted to touch you,” Anthony said. “But you wanted me to touch you too, or you wouldn’t have let me feel you up in public.”
“I already told you—”
Anthony made an impatient noise, his lips curling. “Yes, I remember what you told me: what happened on Belith fucked you up. But you can’t keep using it as an excuse. It fucked me up too. Do you think I find out every day that I fucked another alpha while I was in rut?”
He had a point.
“We need to figure out what to do about it,” Anthony said, his gaze still unmoving. Heavy. Unsettlingly intense.
“What do you mean?”
“I think we should fuck.”
Michael’s stomach knotted up. “You can’t be serious,” he said with a strangled chuckle.
